The first thing to say about this deck is that you need to be sure you have some talcum powder handy for when your new deck arrives – the cards have an oddly “sticky” feel about them which will only be removed by shuffling for a while with powdered hands. The card stock is durable – pretty heavy – and the print ink has that distinctive “new” scent to it that always makes my nose twitch.

This is the first and original of a flurry of cat-based tarot decks, sporting unusual artwork by Karen Kuykendall who says she paints to make sense of her chaotic world. She tends to work large canvasses with small brushes which perhaps account for the textured quality of many of these images. If you study her other work you will notice how often circles appear in her work – this deck is no exception.

The cards all have figures depicted on them, many ornately and elaborately dressed, some actually sporting the features of cats, and others accompanied by felines. Some of the cards are remarkably evocative of cat behaviour – though not quite so helpful when it comes to intuiting meanings from the deck. Here and there images pay lip service to traditional layouts…but often this is surrendered for artistic composition.

According to the little white book, the Cat People live in the Outer Regions, which is divided into five areas depicted by the Majors and the four Minor Suits.

Overall the deck follows the pattern of most conventional decks. It is pretty, and interesting. If you like cats and are already fairly experienced in the use of tarot you could easily get a lot out of this deck – it’s very family friendly for sure.